


The Kids Aren't Alright (but they're getting better)

by TheQuietWings



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Developing Friendships, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hunter Ben Braeden, Hunter Claire Novak, Hunter Jack Kline, Hunter Jesse Turner, Next Generation, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Team Free Will 2.0 (Supernatural), my version anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28824957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQuietWings/pseuds/TheQuietWings
Summary: Take one post-amnesiac with something to prove (and who's realizing the world is so much bigger than he thought.)Add one hunter who refuses to be defined by her dead dad (even though she misses him.)Mix in one forgotten antichrist (that still hasn't figured out where he fits.)And toss in one nephil for good luck ( He's very happy to be included.)Or, Team Free Will 2.0 as I imagine them, hunting and trying to figure themselves out. It's harder than it looks.
Relationships: Ben Braeden & Claire Novak, Ben Braeden & Jack Kline & Claire Novak & Jesse Turner, Ben Braeden & Jesse Turner
Kudos: 5





	1. Uncanny

**Author's Note:**

> Things not to expect from this fic:  
> \- Canon compliance with the finale (fuck that)  
> \- People being in character (ha ha i haven't watched past s8 and Ben & Jesse are barely characters in the show)  
> \- An actual story (it's just me rambling about character interactions)
> 
> Things to expect:  
> \- team free will 2.0 proving that family don't end in blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben & Jesse go to a comic book store.

The thing about Jesse is...

Well, the thing about Jesse is that Ben can’t figure him out. The guy’s an enigma, an annoying, slightly superpowered enigma who seems as like to toss them to the wolves as to pull them out of the fire. At least, according to himself, except that Ben also can’t help but notice that Jesse’s doing a lot more of the fire-pulling lately. He’s around more, too, and not in the silently glaring at you from across a diner way like he had been when he first started following him and Claire. He’s not talkative, exactly, or friendly, but he’s there, listening to Jack ramble or helping Claire break into buildings.

So, yeah, Ben can’t get a read on him, and it’s starting to get frustrating.

Of all the weird locales Ben’s had to ‘infiltrate’ to interview people, a comic book shop isn’t the weirdest, but it’s up there. A few months back, Claire sent him to talk to the caretaker of a graveyard, and he had to spend a good hour pretending he was super interested in taking up the profession before he got anything solid. (He now knows a lot about how to clean graffiti off of tombstones.) It is usually Claire who sends him off, too. He’s got a head for research, apparently, but she still knows more about this job than he does. She’s a good leader, even if she won’t admit it to herself.

Now, why Jesse’s here with him? He’s got no clue. Ben just ducks his head and sorts through comics and tries valiantly to pretend the antichrist isn’t breathing down his neck. Which he isn’t, really, because Jesse’s got a thing about getting too close to people and keeps a minimum of five feet apart, but something about his presence always makes him seem like he’s looming over Ben’s shoulder. Or that’s the paranoia speaking. Hunting hasn’t exactly done wonders for his mental health.

He’s a little surprised when Jesse begins leafing through the pile next to him, almost half-heartedly. He pulls at the comics with the sticky snap of plastic covers coming apart, looking over each title in turn. Ben steals a look at his face while he’s distracted. His brow is furrowed, just a little, but his eyes are far away. Until they suddenly snap up and he stares straight back at Ben.

“You, uh...” Ben has no idea how to start a conversation with him. “Want one?” He settles on after floundering for what is definitely long enough for Jesse to notice, and for any hint of the wistfulness in his face to be replaced by annoyance.

“No.” He answers, bluntly, and shoves his hands into his pockets. Walks away.

“Well, screw me for caring,” Ben mutters under his breath. Can’t get a read on him, can’t talk to him, and he’s always scowling... They put up with him because they don’t really have a choice in the matter. Jesse chose to come with, and there wasn’t much they could do to stop him. The only person he’s ever nice to is Jack, and, well, come on. Ben would bet a thousand bucks to find someone who wouldn’t warm up to Jack eventually.

He plays along as a interested costumer for a few more minutes. Comic books were never really his thing. He’s tried watching the movies to get into them, but he’d just ended up confused and bored. Whatever, he’s bluffed his way through harder things for this job. He sidles up to the counter, where the tired looking worker doesn’t even look up. He feels awful, because the last thing he would want after having to watch his friend die would be to come into work and have some random dude bug him, but they need the information. Ben turns on a winning smile (which, contrary to Claire’s ridiculing, is not actually him trying to flirt with every person they interview. It’s called being charming, and she could stand to learn a thing or two.) and coughs to get the guy’s attention.

“Hey there,” he starts. The guy isn’t wearing a nametag, so it’d be weird to address him, even though Ben’s already seen his name in the papers. “I was just wondering. Been looking around and I can’t seem to find any... Amazing X-Men?” He fumbles for the name. The guy just looks at him blankly.

“Uncanny.” Ben suppresses the urge to jump. Jesse is way too quiet. He doesn’t stop at correcting Ben’s mistake either. “He doesn’t know a thing about comics,” he explains, tilting his head to indicate Ben. “We’re trying to get a gift. For our sister.” Ben stands stunned for a moment before he jumps off of that.

“Yeah, she’s a fan. You mind helping me out?” The guy doesn’t seem suspicious in the least as he leaves the register, gesturing for them to follow. Ben meets Jesse’s gaze, gives him a nod that he hopes comes across as a thanks, dude. Jesse turns halfway without responding, then stops, turns back, and slowly mimics the nod.

It’s a lot easier to ease the comic employee into a conversation about what happened to him after that. Jesse seems content with what little he’s done to help, hangs back and eyes the decor, the intricate figurines and the posters of superheroes pointing down at them. Ben gets a little about the incident of the guy’s friend choking to death on nothing, about the local legend of a hanged man haunting the grove a mile or so out of town, and he offers the guy his condolences. He also ends up buying a comic book he does not want to keep his cover from being blown. Jesse follows him out.

“Well, now what do I do with this?” Ben asks, shaking out the pages of the comic book. There’s a colorful group of misfits emblazoned across the panels, snarking and working together.

“Throw it away?” Jesse offers, and Ben raises an eyebrow. He wasn’t really expecting a response.

“That’s four dollars wasted.” Jesse shrugs. “I’m not going to read it.”

“Give it to a kid or something.”

“Kids still like this stuff?” Ben’s got to be honest, he’s mostly assumed comics were the purview of nerdy adults nowadays.

“I did,” Jesse answers. “Before...” He makes a gesture with his hands, the universal sign Ben’s come to be all to familiar with of before the Winchesters ruined my life. Claire does it too. Ben... tries not to. Jack doesn’t, but Jack avoids most conversations about them. Probably for the best, too. “I wanted to be a superhero when I grew up.” Jesse continues, and despite whatever efforts he’s making to keep his voice neutral, a hint of bitterness creeps in.

“Seriously?”

“Is it that hard to imagine?”

“A little?” Ben says. “No offense, man, but you’re kind of an asshole.” He sees Jesse turn his head to look at him out of the corner of his eye, but keeps his gaze ahead. This is more than he’s ever heard Jesse say in one sitting.

“I’m trying not to be.” Jesse says, quietly. He sounds incredibly uncertain, and all of a sudden, Ben feels like, maybe, he might be the asshole here. Because yeah, Jesse’s rude, and stand-offish, and never comes near anyone, and doesn’t start conversations. But Ben’s the one who assumed he was doing it on purpose. Jesse doesn’t tell them about his past (fits right in, in that regard) but it wasn’t happy. You don’t end up alone on the road and hunting without something with teeth at your heels.

“You’ve definitely gotten better at it,” Ben offers. When Jesse doesn’t answer, he rubs the corner of the comic between his thumb and finger, considering. They have to pause to cross the road, and Ben takes the opportunity to push the comic into Jesse’s hands. He nearly drops it when instead of taking it, Jesse pulls away like he’s been burned. Ben’s hand just barely brushed his. “Take it. You’ll enjoy it a whole lot more than I will.” Jesse is tentative when he takes it from him. Their hands don’t touch this time.

“I haven’t touched one of these in years,” Jesse admits, and Ben smiles. He resists the urge to give Jesse a friendly pat on the shoulder. They’ll work up to that.

“No time like the present.” Jesse doesn’t smile back, but his eyes look brighter than they ever have. He keeps the comic. Ben catches him looking at it sometimes, when the lulls hit during hunts or when he’s camped out in the back of Claire’s pick-up. He also notices when that comic gets exchanged for a different one, and then another, and another. He’s pretty sure Jesse isn’t buying those, though if he’s stealing them or just willing them into existence isn’t something Ben bothers to ask.

He catches Jesse’s eyes sometimes when he’s reading and gives him a little nod of acknowledgment. After a moment, Jesse always returns it.


	2. Dear Fellow Traveler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Claire and Ben met

Ben can tell you the exact hour his life was fucked up for the second time. He can’t tell you the first time because he doesn’t remember it. The second time is when a rugged woman drags him out of a burning building and tells him that the supernatural is real and that his mom was possessed for a minute but she’s probably fine now and also that she needs to run because she doesn’t want to be arrested for arson again.

Now. He doesn’t have time to unpack all of that.

His mom is fine, after the hospital is done with her. She doesn’t even look like she was in a house fire, which is good, and she definitely doesn’t look like she’s possessed. So far, she hasn’t tried to stab him with a fork or screamed at him about a ‘Dean Winchester’. Ben considers that to be a good sign. She doesn’t remember anything about the whole incident, something the doctors couldn’t explain since she never sustained any head injuries during the whole event, and he doesn’t want to remind her. She’s stressed enough as it is, between the two of them trying to figure out how to pay for college and keep the house.

The problem is: That woman doesn’t leave. She doesn’t approach him at first, but he keeps seeing her around, in the diner down the corner, going in and out her motel room, sitting in the back of her pick-up truck near the park. The last one is where he finally confronts her.

“Are you stalking me?” The direct approach is the best one, but Claire scowls at him instead of answering.

“No. I’m...” She trails off and when she can’t provide a good answer, he continues.

“Because I could call the cops on you. If you are.” And she laughs out loud, harsh and clearly faked.

“Try it, Braeden.”

“How the hell do you know me?” She shrugs.

“I do my research. I’m good at my job.”

“And your job is...?” Ben knows what the answer is. He really doesn’t want her to say it.

“Saving people. Hunting things.” She says the words with an air of distaste. Ben swallows.

“Like demons?”

“Sometimes.” He shakes his head.

“That’s i-”

“I swear to fucking god, if you say impossible, I will hit you.” She jumps off the back of the truck and slams the end up. Ben backs up, hands held high in surrender. He can’t tell if she’s joking or not, but so far his only interaction with her ended in a house catching fire. The woman glares at him, and then her face falls. “You actually don’t know, do you? About any of this.”

“Look, I don’t want trouble.” She grins, and it’s bitter and worn at the edges in a way she clearly doesn’t bother to hide. “Just- Will my mom be safe after this? That thing, whatever it was, demon, ghost, I don’t care, it won’t come back?”

“Yeah, sent that fucker back where it belongs. It won’t claw it’s way back up for a century or so. Hopefully. But I can’t promise there won’t be more shit trying to kill you. You’re Dean’s kid. I don’t know what you expected.”

“Dean Winchester?” Ben’s digging- no, drilling himself into a hole, but he can’t just pretend none of this happened. He’s got to know.

“Yeah.” The woman tapped her foot against the ground. “I’m Claire, by the way, if you cared.”

“Ben.” He offered a hand. Claire didn’t take it, eyeing it suspiciously instead. “So, who is he?”

“He’s a Winchester. That makes him important. He and his brother hunt shit too. I’m not the person to ask. I only know them because my dad. Knew them.” She grimaced.

“Well, point me in his direction and I’ll ask him myself.” Claire looked him over, and her eyes seem to burn through him.

“Have you ever even held a gun before?” He opens his mouth to answer and she interrupts. “Ever been out of this little town? Or your mom’s house? You’ll get yourself killed out there. I don’t need your life on my conscience.”

“I know how to shoot.” He says defensively. Claire isn’t the least bit impressed. She pushes past him and to the car door. “Wait!” She yanks the door open hard enough that the metal screeches in protest and very pointedly does not wait. “Claire! You said those things were after me anyway. If you leave and another kills me or my mom, that’ll be your fault.” Ben regrets the words the second they leave his mouth. Claire rounds on him, and he stumbles backwards.

“Fuck you.” She hisses. Ben keeps backing away. She’s got her hands balled into fists, held still by her side with effort.

“I just-”

“Get. In.” She points at the car. Ben hesitates, because the (possibly) crazy woman who has already threatened him once is not the ideal car-mate. “Before I change my mind.”

That’s how Ben Braeden and Claire Novak start their cross-country road trip to find the Winchesters, answers, and closure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: i wrote this before the first chapter, two year ago. 
> 
> never give up on your projects, kiddos


End file.
